All Forum Posts by: Jeff Si

Hi everyone,

I own an apartment unit in San Francisco, which is currently rented out.

During an inspection last September, the building management identified damage in the unit, which they believe resulted from a water leak in my neighbor’s unit some time ago. The estimated repair cost is a few thousand dollars.

Over the past few months, I’ve been in discussions with my neighbor, trying to have their insurance cover the repairs. However, just yesterday, their insurance company rejected the claim.

This is my first time dealing with a situation like this, and from my perspective, I have a few options:

1. Cover the repairs myself—either through my own insurance or out of pocket.

2. Negotiate with my neighbor to contribute partially or fully to the repair costs. My neighbor seems reasonable, but since I no longer live in California, managing communication remotely is challenging.

3. Pursue legal action by filing a lawsuit against my neighbor.

Since I’m navigating this for the first time, I’d really appreciate any advice or insights you might have. Thanks in advance for your help!

Quote from @Michael Baum:

So @Jeff Si, if you add a shower to that bath, that will make it rentable nightly. Not having a kitchen isn't the biggest deal if people are out and about a lot.

How much $$$ are you willing to put into it?

What is the non-living space rental you are talking about? Commercial? Western WA and Kirkland is pretty  strict on zoning.

I would not spend too much money in this before I'm sure I can make a profit. 

May I ask what do you think of the rental market in Kirkland? I'm also think of renting the whole house out in about 6 months.

Quote from @Trish Mccoy:

@Jeff Si    If you have laundry in basement and there's already 1/2 bath - you're almost there.   It would be easy to add a shower.   i think that is your best bet for the most money.     The other option in your could rent your basement out as a commercial space for someone needing office space.

Honestly, unless you at least have a full bath - you're not going to have a very desirable STR

Thanks for the advice! Do you happen to know how much $$$ is needed to add a shower? 

Thank you all for your great suggestions! 

To answer the question that was asked the most: my house is a 3-floor single family. all the bedrooms and bathrooms are on the top floor, living room the second floor, the basement and the laundry room on the ground floor. The problem with the basement is there is only a 0.5 bath (toilet, but no shower) next to the basement. For the guest to take a shower, they have to use the guest bathroom on the top floor. 

any idea how to handle this other than adding another shower?...

My girlfriend and I are actually seeking solutions to rent this basement out but not as a living space. I'm open to all suggestions. 

I have a house in Kirkland, WA, and currently living there with my girlfriend. 

This is a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath SF house with a walk-out basement. My girlfriend and I are using the master bedroom and also the two other bedrooms as office since we are both working from home. The basement is empty. It's a pretty big, above ground, and has a door to the outside. Basically it can be treated an additional bedroom.

We are considering rending the basement out to make some cash flow, but so far we don't know what's the best way to invest it out. Here some the thoughts:

1. The ski season is coming. Seattle has one of the best snow in US so I'm thinking renting the basement out during the ski season. The caveat is Kirkland is relatively far from the ski resorts. Normally it takes about 1 hour drive to reach the nearest ski resort.

2. We are also thinking out listing the basement on Airbnb. But we never did airbnb before so not sure how much that would impact our life. We are very enjoying ourselves living in this cozy house. Sharing the house with a stranger is something we are hesitating about. 

would love to hear suggestions from you all about how to make the best use of the basement or even the guest bedrooms (My girlfriend and I can go to office even though we are not a big fan) to make some money. 

Thank you all!